Google News
Rising Italian star Jannik Sinner insisted it wasn't easy playing fellow rising Emil Ruusuvuori though he handed a straight-set defeat to the Finn. Sinner, ranked at No. 24 in the world, lost just a total of six games en route to collecting a 6-2 6-4 win over Ruusuvuori.
Sinner will be fighting fellow rising star Sebastian Korda for a place in the Washington quarterfinal. “It was not easy. We’ve had some great battles already, this time was the third [time I faced him],” Sinner said in an on-court interview, as quoted on the ATP website.
“He’s a very, very good player and a young guy. I’m happy about my performance today. “I was trying to play my game. I think we both have similar styles, we both play quite flat. I was trying to change direction [of the ball] earlier than him, and that worked well for me today”.
Sinner ends his losing streak
After losing to Christopher O'Connell last week at the Atlanta Open, Sinner's losing streak was prolonged to four matches. With the win over Ruusuvuori, Sinner clinched his first win since the French Open.
“How do I stay positive? It’s very easy. I’m 19 years old, turning 20 this year, which I think a lot of people forget,” Sinner said after losing to O'Connell. “For me personally, it doesn’t matter if I win now at 20 or at 23.
I think our goal is to become a great player when I am around 23, 24 years old. The process we are doing is [for the] longterm”. Sinner made a good start to the match against Ruusuvuori, taking an early 3-0 lead. Sinner failed to convert another break point in the sixth game but broke Ruusuvuori in the eighth game to comfortably win the opener.
In the second set, Ruusuvuori saved a break point in the sixth game but couldn't do the same in the 10th game as Sinner broke to book a straight-set win.